I think they have the potential to be better than movies in terms of storytelling (Unwound Future, 999, Shin Megami Tensei IV, etc). Then again I'm not an avid gamer outside of 3DS/DS games right now. =P

Yeah, but that doesn't mean there's no artistic value in trying out different ways of making games, including trying to emulate other forms of media like movies or comics.

Obviously that doesn't mean letting go of the unique benefits of the video game medium, but I don't have a slightest problem with, say, the voice acting and anime cutscenes in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, or scripted flight segments and synchronized dialogue from Kid Icarus: Uprising. If people used "video games aren't movies" as an excuse to never even try those kinds of things it would be unreasonably close-minded of them.

Can it be pushed too far? Of course it can! But you'll never know just how far is too far if nobody's even willing to push in that direction. And it doesn't take the whole industry shifting in that direction, just a few game developers who are willing to take a risk and challenge preconceived notions of what a gaming experience should or shouldn't be like.

Yeah, but that doesn't mean there's no artistic value in trying out different ways of making games, including trying to emulate other forms of media like movies or comics.

Obviously that doesn't mean letting go of the unique benefits of the video game medium, but I don't have a slightest problem with, say, the voice acting and anime cutscenes in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, or scripted flight segments and synchronized dialogue from Kid Icarus: Uprising. If people used "video games aren't movies" as an excuse to never even try those kinds of things it would be unreasonably close-minded of them.

Can it be pushed too far? Of course it can! But you'll never know just how far is too far if nobody's even willing to push in that direction. And it doesn't take the whole industry shifting in that direction, just a few game developers who are willing to take a risk and challenge preconceived notions of what a gaming experience should or shouldn't be like.

The problem is that it isn't a different way of making games. For far too long it has actually been the norm for a lot of triple-A titles. There's a reason that a lot of indie games get praise and that's because they are the ones who try mixing up the formula instead of shoving out another Call of Assassin's Madden for Speed shovelware game every year. It's become such a problem that "we're trying to make it cinematic" is actually being passed off as some kind of excuse for poor game development (e.g. low frame-rate).

There's nothing wrong with amazing set pieces, award-winning music, or having a stellar story in a video game. Heck, a good story is number one on my list and it's the reason I like games such as KOTOR or Darksiders so gosh-darned much. Story is also why Bioshock Infinite was so highly praised because, let's be honest, the actual gameplay was mostly uninspired and generic and I'll gladly disprove any claims otherwise (don't get me wrong though, I actually do like the game). But video games aren't movies and a lot of games don't capitalize on the key difference between the two: the controls, the interaction, the tactile aspect. Anyone who disagrees with me or doesn't understand what I'm getting at needs to play Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons. Simply using the controller makes all the difference in the world. It tells a story and gives an experience -- without any dialogue, I might add -- that could not and would not be possible in any other medium.

disagree, please continue to make them as close to playable movies as possible

Why? It'd pretty much cease to be a game at that point. And cease to be good as well but you get my drift.

It's an apples-to-oranges comparison. Video games != movies.

Takuma Nuva

Yeah, but that doesn't mean there's no artistic value in trying out different ways of making games, including trying to emulate other forms of media like movies or comics.

Obviously that doesn't mean letting go of the unique benefits of the video game medium, but I don't have a slightest problem with, say, the voice acting and anime cutscenes in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, or scripted flight segments and synchronized dialogue from Kid Icarus: Uprising. If people used "video games aren't movies" as an excuse to never even try those kinds of things it would be unreasonably close-minded of them.

Can it be pushed too far? Of course it can! But you'll never know just how far is too far if nobody's even willing to push in that direction. And it doesn't take the whole industry shifting in that direction, just a few game developers who are willing to take a risk and challenge preconceived notions of what a gaming experience should or shouldn't be like.

I think you know when its pushed too far when the cinematic to gameplay ratio is skewed towards cinematic. Games have begun to push gameplay aside in favor of "muh high res graphics and muh artistic game with no gameplay" for no reason. The games run at a lower fps and are getting shorter, that's not good in my opinion.

I guess I get what you guys are saying. But I've never really played any of those kinds of triple-A games, so I wouldn't know much about that. I hardly play any video games anymore, to be perfectly honest.